A Guide on Creating and Optimizing Meta Ads

Published on 29.11.2025 by Chizoba T

With over 3 billion active monthly users, Facebook is undoubtedly the biggest social media platform. This makes it the perfect platform for brands to reach their target audience using the advanced Facebook ad targeting. However, with the reach of organic posts decreasing, it is no longer essential for brands to use ads to achieve the desired results.

After creating Facebook ads, you will want to ensure that your target audience sees and clicks on them. In this article, we will guide you on creating and optimizing meta ads to increase your conversion.

How Meta Ads Work

With Meta Ads, brands can reach Instagram and Facebook audiences using the same ad. To do that, you will need to visit the Meta Business Suite, where you can boost your posts, photos, videos, carousels, slideshows, Messenger, Instant Experience, and playable ads. There are several types of meta ads:

Instagram Ads. This consists of a single image with a clear copy.
Video Ads. These consist of engaging visual content combined with storytelling.
Story ads. These are full-screen vertical ads that are displayed between different users’ stories.
Carousel ads. A set of videos and images that users can swipe.

These ads can be an excellent choice for driving traffic, increasing awareness, and conversion on both Instagram and Facebook. This also means they can be effective for different marketing goals.

Through ad targeting, you can reach your target audience based on various factors, including profile information, demographics, location, and other relevant details. Once your ad is ready, you can set a budget and bid either for a thousand impressions or a specific number of clicks. This is key to creating a video ad that converts.

Who are Meta Ads Suited For?

One of the reasons that brands don’t see results with Meta Ads is that they don’t take the time to research if this is the right option for their audience. During the early days of Facebook, its ads were mainly display ads rather than search ads. In the last few days, we have seen various ad versions, such as product ads, that enable businesses to sell directly to their target audience.

Businesses That Need Signups

Meta ads are more suited for businesses that ask their customers to take an action, such as signing up, rather than buying a product. This means that successful meta ads focus more on lower-friction conversion. Even when a visitor clicks on your ad and visits your website, you shouldn’t have much expectation for them to buy.

Facebook and Instagram users are quite fickle, and if you expect them to take a significant action, like buying immediately, they will go back to Facebook or Instagram. This is why it is essential to stick with simple conversions, such as asking them to provide personal information on a lead form, share their email address, or utilize Instagram shopping for conversions.

This is especially important when selling a product that requires instant sales. You can later upsell using retargeting ads or email marketing. Brands such as AppSumo have perfected this strategy as they often ask users for their email address and later sell a good deal through emails.

Small Purchases and Longer Sales Cycles

Even if you ask your audience for an email address at the beginning, your ultimate goal is to make money. The most successful businesses that generate revenue with Facebook ads are those that prioritize long-term conversions. For instance, when you obtain a user’s email address, you must first earn their trust before they can purchase from you.

If you sell big-ticket items, Facebook ads may not be the best option for you. Instead, if you offer a subscription business model with a daily deal, you are likely to thrive on Meta. The lifetime value of the customer in both of these businesses is more than six months. This is why brands such as Udemy ask their audience to sign up and use Facebook ads for their long-term customer strategy. Similarly, brands that sell small items such as books and fashion also perform well on Meta, particularly on Instagram.

Choosing an Image for Meta Ads

An image is one of the most valuable elements for your meta ads, perhaps only second to great targeting. No matter how good your copy is, if the image doesn’t capture the user’s attention, you will miss essential clicks. When choosing Meta as an image, avoid:

Generic stock images.
Blurry images.
Images without usage rights.
Stolen from Google images.
Includes your logos, unless it's a popular brand.

After that, use the following tip to make your images outstanding:

Have People in Your Images

People’s images work very well, especially when their facial expressions resemble your audience. For instance, don’t use the image of a beautiful young person if your ad is targeting retirees. Remember to use images that will work for both platforms, as Facebook sidebar images are 254 by 133 pixels.

On the other hand, Instagram feed ads shouldn’t be more than 500 pixels. Focus more on the person’s face and crop where necessary.

Use the Right Typography

To increase clicks to your brand, use a clear and readable ad with bright colors, which can make your ad outstanding. In the same way you create a text copy, you can show the user the benefit they will get or ask them a question. Ensure that the image is perceived as an extension of the copy.

Make Your Ad Humorous

There is no doubt that humor sells, and this means that adding a funny or crazy picture will sell because humor has a unique way of captivating your audience and causing them to remember and share your ads. It also helps you reach a bigger demographic because a well-made joke can connect people outside your conventional market categories. It can even help you reach people who are outside your original demographic.

How to Optimize Your Meta Ads

Here are tips to optimize your Meta Ads:

A/B Test Your Ads

All your campaigns should have at least three ads, all with similar interest groups. When you use several ads, you can then collect data on each of them. In any campaign, one or two of the ads will receive high impressions.

Therefore, after you have determined which one will work, you can remove the poorly performing ads in terms of click-through rates. You can continue to improve the winner to improve your click-through rate. Even as you do that, make sure you understand the common A/B testing mistakes that may affect your conversion.

Use AIDA

Meta ads typically have a 40-character limit for the headline and a 125-character limit for the body. However, you can still use the AIDA copywriting formula that stands for:

(A)ttention. Use an attention-grabbing headline that pulls users to the ad.
(I)nterest. Keep users engaged with the product by clearly explaining its key benefits.
(D)esire. Ensure there is an instant desire for the product by offering free trials, discounts, or a FOMO offer.
(A)action. The ad should end with a CTA.

In Conclusion

Meta Ads can be an excellent choice for reaching a diverse audience across Instagram and Facebook. This is primarily due to their powerful targeting capabilities, which can help generate leads and increase sales. Through Meta’s advanced tools, you can target specific demographics, behaviors, and interests while reaching the right people in various ad formats and with varying levels of automation. You can check out our guide on selling on the Facebook Marketplace.